DAVAO CITY — Gatchalian-owned Waterfront Philippines, Inc. (WPI) has laid out a 10-year masterplan for its Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, which will turn one of the city’s oldest hotels into a mixed-use leisure complex.
The masterplan, presented by the Gatchalians to President Rodrigo R. Duterte in Malacañang last week, aims to use the vacant spaces on the seaside property for additional amenities, according to the hotel’s general manager, Bryan Yves S. Lasala.
In an interview, Mr. Lasala said several architects have visited the hotel in the past six months to draft plans for adding a convention area and possibly gaming facilities.
“We are trying to choose who can give the best perspective in terms of development and this is being spearheaded by our corporate office as mandated by the owners to maximize the vacant spaces of the property,” he said.
“The hotel is still going to be there because we cannot destroy something that’s already an institution in Davao,” he added.
A series of ocular visits from other architects is also scheduled in the coming weeks.
“Architects can still give their renditions or perspective based on what the owners want,” Mr. Lasala said.
The 56-year-old Waterfront Insular Hotel Davao, occupying an area of about 12 hectares, has seen a spike in occupancy beginning June last year with the increase in tourist arrivals in Davao City, the President’s hometown.
“We are experiencing an all-time high in terms of occupancy percentage and in terms of visitors in terms of revenue peso value,” Mr. Lasala said, but did not give details.
The hotel recently hosted the Miss Earth 2016 candidates and was the main venue of activities during Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s visit.
“The visits actually brought a very good image to Davao because that (Miss Earth) was a month after the (Sept. 2016) night market bombing. That was a good way for us to rebound and show to the world that Davao is safe… It has highlighted what Davao ad Mindanao has to offer,” Mr. Lasala said.
He added that a security program, in coordination with authorities, is in place to ensure the protection of guests, especially during visits of VIPs.
“In terms of services, we always bank on our experience having done three visits already from the President during the past six months, so I would say Waterfront Insular has experience in terms of handling VIP events.”
